Weddings

Grace Tan In Church Weddings, Indian + Punjabi Weddings, Weddings

Zion Lutheran Church Wedding: Anthony & Karen

It’s really an honour when I am asked to photograph the wedding of a sibling I had also been a part of. Six years ago, I photographed Karen’s brother’s wedding at the very same church. It was so lovely to meet everyone again. The same warm family that makes you feel as if you are part of them! Karen and Anthony’s wedding had a gorgeous orange theme. I loved how they infused Indian motives into Anthony’s cravat and also created a modern version of the saree as the wedding gown! Aside from the wedding itself, I love the story of how Anthony and Karen met. It can be made into the plot of a romance movie!

20160730-WEDDING_ANTHONY_KAREN-34 Their Story as told by Karen
I am a surgeon in Ireland and we met when i was a really junior trainee surgeon. I had done a weekend (3 nights) of call in a row and unfortunately had my wallet stolen from the doctors room earlier that Monday (16th June 2008) just when I was finishing my shift. I got in to the car to drive home with no money and a dead phone. I fell asleep while driving on the highway and had a bad crash with 2 cars. I walked to the closest place to make a call, and called the insurance company who in turn called rescue services.

Anthony arrived in uniform to check me out and assess the damages. We got to talking and I told him about my unfortunate day. He offered to loan me money to get me home and I in turn promised to return the money. I texted him about a week later and we met but we were talking so much I never returned the cash. We then had many meetings as friends where we took his chocolate labrador Archie for walks in the national park. We eventually started officially dating in July and the rest is history. I never actually returned the money.

20160730-WEDDING_ANTHONY_KAREN-01 Continue Reading

Grace Tan In Chinese Weddings, Wedding Films & Videos, Weddings

Wedding Video Highlight at Ciao: Tai Kuan & Pei Yee

They were very young when they met each other… he was 23 and she was 16! She was one of the many students in his class that he was tutoring, and somehow they got acquainted. 12 years later, they are married! You have to watch this tear jerking video to find out more about their story… We’re so touched to see how close Pei Yee is to her sisters. Marriage will change circumstances, but relationships with siblings can stand the test of time. Thank you Pei Yee for trusting our team, and for the lovely macarons surprise after the wedding!

Pei Yee says: “We chose Stories as our videographer for our ROM Ceremony as we really love the videos they did previously. We had our ROM on 08.10.2016 and the video was suppose to be shown during the dinner reception on 15.10.2016. Despite the short timeline (in only one week), Stories produced, i would say, the best video i have watched.

I would say i am a bridezilla and i have watched almost all the wedding videos i can find in the internet.We had high expectations on Stories but the video was way past our expectations. Our ROM video was exactly what i wanted. Stories manage to highlight the whole event, but at the same time add personal touch to the video. Delvin, Chi Yin and Choo Cherk did an amazing job by making everyone very comfortable and they worked really hard to capture every moment they can.

I have watched the video 20 times myself and i am still not bored of it, everyone asked who my did my ROM video and i would proudly say, Stories did.”

Credits:

Videographers: Chi Yin, Delvin & Choo Cherk
Wedding Ceremony Location: Ciao Ristorante, KL
Pre-Ceremony Location: E&O Residence, KL
Groom’s Attire: Montana
Bride’s Wedding Gown: Wedding Isle Gallery
Shoes: Christy Ng
Make up & Hair: Gene Lim Philips
Decorations: OneWayTix
Florist: Left Handed Florist

Grace Tan In Chinese Weddings, Church Weddings, Indian + Punjabi Weddings, Malay Weddings, Outdoor Weddings, Wedding Films & Videos, Weddings

Wedding Cinematography Reel

The amazing thing about videos is that you can capture the emotions as it happened… the voice that chokes as she says her vows, the tears falling down the groom’s cheek or a small smile that turns into a big guffaw. It’s so special. It brings you back to that exact moment as it happened, and it is just immortalised. Years later, as you look back on your wedding video or film, it will bring you back to that precise moment.

This is the magic of filmmaking that drew me to it in the first place when I studied Film and Television 18 years ago. Not just because I can create stories, but that it had the power to connect people. I hope you will enjoy this reel compiled by Chi Yin, of wedding stories that we have created for our clients over the past 1-2 years. Filmed by so many talented videographers on our team. Thank you for all your hard work!

Wedding Video Showreel from Stories on Vimeo.

Grace Tan In Outdoor Weddings, Weddings

Orange tones at Emma & Laurence’s Beach Wedding

Emma and Laurence are a British couple that have lived in Malaysia for the past 18 months. Their journey together started at Cambridge university where they met and did activities like row together. That was 10 years ago. Since then, the adventure has never stopped. From eating insects in Cambodia, to enjoying sunrises over the temples of Bagan and searching for sharks while scuba diving, their life is full of excitement. Since they love to travel and with 50 over guests coming all over to the world to Langkawi for their wedding, they decided to go for a travel theme with an orange tone. The beautiful location that the Andaman is in, with the mix of rainforest and beach was the perfect setting for their wedding.

When they first contacted us, they told us that after talking to friends who have already celebrated their wedding day, everyone commented how they wish they had thought more about the photographs. Keen not to have the same regret, and impressed by the photos on our website, they decided to hire us as their wedding photographers! Hurray! And from their comment about our work after the wedding, I think we lived up to their expectations!

Emma says: Jamie and Nigel were amazing. Not only did they put us at ease (there were some worries about ‘photo face’) but they were such good fun to spend the day with. We couldn’t have asked for anyone better. It is hard to pick which part of the day was our most memorable – Between the Mandi Bunga (which was a first for almost everybody there) and our dance at the reception, but I think it has to be the ceremony itself, especially as it didn’t rain and we could have it on the beach.

20160720_WEDDING_LAURENCE_EMMA-01 Continue Reading

Grace Tan In Chinese Weddings, Church Weddings, Musings, Tips + Ideas, Weddings

A White or Red Veil

A white wedding veil is seen as a traditional norm in weddings, symbolising the purity of the bride. Interestingly, Wikipedia mentioned that the earliest reference of a veiled woman was recorded in an Assyrian text from the 13th Century BC. Now, at a Chinese wedding, a red veil is usually the norm, though nowadays, most couples prefer to opt out of it. Red symbolizes good luck, happiness, and prosperity. If you would like to read more about it, this website talks about how the tradition dates back to the Qi period (479-502), where women farmers would wear a veil to protect their heads against the cold wind or hot sunshine.

Whatever the origin, I find veils to be so lovely, almost mysterious. Ten years ago, when I got married, I was quite an ignorant bride, and one of the biggest mistakes I made was that I didn’t try on my veil until my wedding day! It was then that I realised it was too short to cover my face (it was one of those veils that only looked good at the back of your head!). So yeah, with no alternative at hand, I lived with a white veil that stopped short next to my chin. Thank God I didn’t allow that little boo-boo to ruin my wedding day!

20160423_WEDDING_JOHN_JULIETA_0134 A traditional square veil matched with the Chinese kua outfit.

A modern twist to the red Chinese veil.

Whether you decide to wear a white or red veil for your wedding day, here are some questions to ask yourself as you choose your wedding veil:

Does it match your wedding gown?
If your wedding gown has a lot of details at the back or front, you should consider a simple, sheer veil that can highlight this feature. But if your gown is a little more simple, then you can consider a veil with more embellishments. Your gown and veil shouldn’t be fighting for attention.
What length of veil would you like to opt for?
Shorter veils would suit a more informal look, whereas mid length waist level veils are suitable for most gowns. Floor length veils are good for dresses that do not have a train. If you would like a really long veil that drapes across the floor, you can partner it with classic wedding gowns or those that do have a large train. You can read more about this in this informative article here.
What kind of hairstyle would you like to have?
Would your hair be up or down during your wedding day? What kind of accessories are you planning to wear? If your hair is up, you can wear your veil above or below your bun. Pinning the veil below your bun would highlight your hair style a little more compared to wearing your veil above your bun.

Hope these tips are useful!